Statements after the end of the grand final of the Youth League and the triumph of the K19 of Olympiakos, who climbed to the top of Europe, was made by Sotiris Sylaidopoulos.
The coach of the “red and white” idolized his footballers, while he spoke of the very good work being done in the academies of Olympiakos and wished that this historic success would give everyone the reason to believe in the Greek players!
In detail what the Olympiakos U19 coach said:
“European champions, two words, I don’t know if we can understand, exactly what we have done. At the moment we are European champions. We are 10 million Greeks. Only 20 can say that they are European champions, the kids of 2004. Collectively it’s us. It’s an amazing achievement. We are rightfully European champions and that is the most important thing for me. We proved that there is Greek football, there is methodical work. We belong to this level and we all have to believe in it. I think that the young kids have a lot to give, but also the young people in Greek football and let this be the beginning to believe more in the Greek players”.
To what he dedicates winning the trophy: “First of all the children, an amazing group, a group with strong character, we are very close and it shows. In the organization, in the president, he has invested time, money, we who live it every day can perceive it. To the fans of Olympiakos, but also to the whole of Greece in general and of course to my family, we have made huge sacrifices for me to be here at this moment, I love them very much”.
On what he told his players at half-time: “There is a specific plan, we know what we want to do on the pitch. Then it’s 45 minutes and nothing else. And that is magic. There are 45 minutes and then we can’t turn back time. And since we deserve it, we show that we are better, we have to come back with the trophy”.
For the beautiful third goal: “It was amazing, it was the icing on the cake, that one could see a lot of regular requests. We were outstanding in all four phases of the game. A team that, beyond character and personality, knows what to do on the pitch. I may be ahead, but there are many people behind me. Huge congratulations to all the staff. It’s a right for everyone, we believed that very much. After the Lecce game I said we can go very far. I might have seen something in this group that wasn’t visible, but the belief, the confidence and the character was there and I think that’s what got us here.”.
As for whether any of the children will advance to the men’s team and the national team: “The Olympiakos men’s team has found its way. We are the only team to be in a European semi-final and since I am also a member of the first team, I believe we can reach a second European final in the same year. For the national team, I am not the person in charge, but there is definitely a generation that deserves to be at the Euros”.
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